U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez gets GOP pharma exec Bob Hugin as challenger

The Trump midterm elections put 4 House seats in play at the Jersey Shore. Bob Jordan video.
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Bob Hugin, the retired executive chairman of Celgene Corporation since in this 2017 photo, is running for the GOP nomination in the election for the seat held by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez.(Photo: Bob Karp/Staff Photographer)Buy Photo

"I'm embarrassed about how people think about New Jersey based on Senator Menendez's behavior. It's embarrassing,'' Hugin said Tuesday in Springfield as he announced he's seeking the Republican nomination for Senate, with the goal to face Menendez in the November general election.

The midterm elections for the House of Representatives will also be on the November ballot. Learn more about the Jersey Shore's four House seats in the video at the top of the page.

Going forward, Hugin is expected to continue making fitness for office the focus as Menendez remains embroiled in a corruption scandal, though last month Mendendez was cleared of criminal charges after the Justice Department asked a federal court to dismiss a 2015 indictment.

The Senate Ethics Committee is investigating allegations that Menendez used his influence to help Dr. Salomon Melgen, a friend and campaign donor who was convicted of Medicaid fraud last year.

Menendez speaks at a news conference outside of a Target store on Dec. 26, 2013, in Jersey City, N.J., to lay out efforts to protect consumers' personal information in light news that information from 40 million Target customers had been stolen.
Julio Cortez, AP

Menendez walks up to the sand dune at 49th Street in Long Beach Township, N.J., as he led a delegation of U.S. senators to view the damage from Superstorm Sandy on Dec. 10, 2012.
Thomas P. Costello, USA TODAY Network

In a re-enactment ceremony of his swearing-in on the Senate floor, Menendez raises his hand as Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the Senate's president pro tem, reads the oath of office in Old Senate Chamber on Jan. 18, 2006.
J. Scott Applewhite, AP

Hugin, who recently retired as executive chairman of the pharmaceutical company Celgene Corp., has quickly lined up support from prominent Republicans and is rumored to have pledged $20 million of his own fortune to win the race.

"I don't think anybody in Washington has moved the needle on New Jersey right now," Murray said. "Menendez will be able to raise plenty of his own money. He's a great campaigner and it's a Democratic year. History suggests he will be able to overcome the drop in his approval ratings caused by the trial."